Southwest Florida Eagles Hatch Still In Progress, Bald Eagle HK and Sterling

The Southwest Florida hatch is still in progress. It can take a couple of days for the chick to escape from the shell. Here's some s'caps from the few times we've gotten to see the part of the egg where the chick has made some progress. Here at the 1 o'clock position.

Again at the 1 o'clock position of the top egg.

It's been really hard to get a good look at the eggs. During nest exchanges, there's only a couple of frames where the eggs can be seen.

Look toward the edge of the right egg, around the 10 o'clock position.

Finally, it looks like the hole is getting bigger.

We got a better look as the egg rolled when Mom took a step. I'm hoping to see a hatchling in the morning! (It is possible for the chick to perish if becomes too exhausted before it can get out. I'd really like to see a chick soon!)

We also got some close-ups today at the Southwest Florida nest:

There's a new post about Bald Eagle HK and his girlfriend Sterling on Pam Monahan's blog. She has some great pictures of them! Will we see eggs this year at their nest? Talons crossed!

Southwest Florida Eagles Hatch In Progress!

I think we have a pip this evening at the Southwest Florida nest! (Look for the pip at the 7 o'clock position of the bottom egg.) What will we have in the morning? A nestling, or a hatch in progress?

Southwest Florida Eagles On Hatch Watch!, Upper Mississippi River Trio At The Nest, Berry College Eagles Incubating, Northeast Florida Eagles One Month Old

The Southwest Florida Eagles are on hatch watch this week. Today is day 33 for the first egg that was laid. That's the earliest that we might see a hatch. Although, with delayed incubation, I would expect the first laid egg to not hatch until around day 35 and the second laid egg to hatch on day 33 or 34. So, even though we are technically in the window for hatch, I would be surprised if we saw a hatch before Monday... Before hatching, the parent can often hear peeps from the egg. The parent seems to be listening here:

Two of the Upper Mississippi River trio arrived at the nest at 5:13 this evening. I then lost the signal (this happens when there are a lot of viewers because of bandwidth issues.) The third arrived at 5:14 - 5:15. So it seems that they all hang out together during the day. They didn't stay at the nest for long, since it was getting dark.

The Berry College Eagles are still incubating two eggs. I just found this picture from a couple of months ago, of Mom Berry bringing a huge piece of lumber to the nest. Keep in mind that her wingspan is 6 - 7 feet wide and that gives you an idea of the size of this limb. She didn't make it to the nest with the limb. It dropped near the photographer who took the picture. The limb weighs 12 pounds! Notice that she is carrying it with one foot. The other leg is the one that was injured and caused her to limp for the past two years. She's not limping any more, but you can tell by the way she stands that it didn't heal perfectly... Here's a s'cap from today, almost half-way through the incubation period:

Then Northeast Florida Eaglets are about a month old now and are standing already:

I caught An Eventful Two Minutes at the nest (2:05).

Here's a gif of part of the video "Bulls-eye!":

Links To Nest Cams That I've Followed

Bald Eagle

Berry College

Northeast Florida

Southwest Florida

Upper Mississippi River Trio

Harrison Bay

White Rock
Washington DC

Two Harbors

Hays

Duke Farms

Alcoa

Blackwater

Decorah

Delta

Fort St Vrain

Eagles4Kids

Humboldt Bay

Jordon Lake

Maine

Minnesota Bound

NCTC

Osprey

Loch of the Lowes

Dyfi

Alcoa

Hog Island

Bluebird

Berry College
Soddy Daisy

Misc

Africam Black Eagle

White-bellied Sea Eagle
Big Sur Condor

White-bellied Sea Eagles SE15's Necropsy

Some findings from SE15's necropsy have been reported. The rest is still pending. They confirmed that SE15 was a male and that the beak and feather disease (Circovirus) was progressing. Here's a link to what has been reported so far.

Bald Eagle HK

Pam Monahan has two more posts about Bald Eagle HK. The first is from Monday. The second is from today: Winter Portrait

White Bellied Sea Eagles SE15 Humanely Euthanized, Upper Mississippi River Eagles Forming The Nest Bowl

Sad news from the White-bellied Sea Eagle nest. SE15's condition continued to deteriorate and they felt that he would never recover. They humanely euthanized him. You can read the details and view a picture montage.

*Humane euthanization is the last act of kindness that we can show an animal that is suffering and has no quality of life left...

I forgot to post this yesterday. One of the Upper Mississippi River trio made me wonder when I brought up the cam and found this:

Eagles will lay in the nest to help form the nest bowl in preparation for laying eggs. An empty nest bowl was revealed when the Eagle left the nest. But this makes me feel like we may see the first egg soon...

Northeast Florida Eagles Day 23&25, Upper Mississippi River Eagle Trio, Bald Eagle HK, Anderson Cooper Donates K-9 Vests

It was a wet day at the Northeast Florida Eagle nest. The babies were trying to hide under Mom...

...and Zoomer took the opportunity to give us a nice close-up of some pin feathers:

Mom took a little break:

One of the babies did a crop-drop:

Then Mom returned for a feeding:

The three adults were on the nest today at the Upper Mississippi River Eagle nest and they posed so nicely:

Pam Monahan has a new post about Bald Eagle HK. Pam got some great pictures, including his band.

There was a police K-9 in nearby Norfolk that was recently shot and killed while apprehending a man. He was a Belgian Malinois, which is what one of my dogs is. (She's my avatar...) Here's a story about Anderson Cooper donating the funds to outfit the department's K-9s with bullet-proof vests. I'm not familiar with Anderson Cooper. But that's a stand-up thing that he did. Bravo!

Upper Mississippi River Eagle Trio, Berry College Eagles Incubating

The Upper Mississippi River folks left a comment on my blog. Not only do we have the camera page. But you can also follow them at their main page and on their Facebook page. I'm not sure what I caught at the nest this evening. The frame before and after this one were no help in explaining... (The one before showed one Eagle in the nest and the one after showed an empty nest.) There's three Eagles in this s'cap.

It looks like two eggs again this year at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest. Now we settle in for a month of incubation, with hatch watch the second week of February. Here, we are left to guess since there's a lot of grass in the way. I can see one egg, even though I know there are two...

So I checked the DVR later and found some clear shots showing two eggs. All is well.

Reese Lukei's Post About Bald Eagle HE, The Upper Mississippi River Bald Eagle Trio, Osprey Tracking Update, White-bellied Sea Eaglet SE15 Has Been Diagnosed

Reese Lukei has a blog post in memory of Bald Eagle HE. There are some great pictures of her included.

I watched the Upper Mississippi River Bald Eagle nest today, hoping to catch sight of the trio -- and I was successful! I read that it's one female and two males. I'm really interested to see how this works out! Check out these s'caps. (This isn't a stream. It sends stills a few seconds apart. I've see 3 seconds between stills and more than 10 seconds between stills. I don't know what makes it quicker or slower...) One of the Eagles came and went:

Then about a half hour later, the frame went from no Eagles in the nest, to two in the nest, with one appearing to have just landed.

Then, a few frames later, the third Eagle landed. There was no aggression. They all seemed accepting of each other.

They were all poking around the nest.

The rest of these s'caps of the trio are with their heads up and presenting at least a profile to the camera.

Darkness was coming on. They left at 5:22, 5:23, and 5:30.

There is a Tracking Update for the Loch of the Lowes Osprey FR3 and FR4.

White-bellied Sea Eaglet SE15 has been diagnosed with Circovirus. This is a beak and feather disease. Unfortunately, SE15's new feathers are growing in more malformed than his previous feathers and his beak is beginning to show some deformity. Here's a link to their post about SE15's condition.

Upper Mississippi Bald Eagle Trio, Peregrine Management Program

Eagleholic has reported that the Upper Mississippi River nest seems to have three adults, one female and two males. Check Eagleholic's post for the details and a picture. A pair of Great Horned Owls might also be trying to use this nest. This might be an interesting nest to watch! Will I be watching? Darn skippy! (That's a yes!) Here's a link to the cam. 

Check out this story about the peregrine management program. Good stuff!

In Memory of Bald Eagle HE

Bald Eagle HE was the youngest of three that hatched in the nest at the Norfolk Botanical Garden in 2009, daughter of Bald Eagles Mom and Dad Norfolk. Her egg was laid shortly after midnight on 2/17/2009. She hatched on Wednesday 3/25/2009, after 36 days of incubation. On 4/22/2009, she received purple leg band HE. Here, the letters on her band are just visible:

The three chicks from the Norfolk Botanical Garden nest in 2009.

L-R Dr Bryan Watts with Sunday (HH -- Azalea), Reese Lukei with Saturday (HK), and Stephen Living with Wednesday (HE)

On 6/2/2009, she fell from the nest while hopping and wingercizing. A witness on the ground said she dropped like a rock and at the last minute put out her wings to glide to the ground without injury. She was captured by Reese Lukei and spent the night at his house. The next day, Nuckols Tree Care returned her to the nest. She fledged on 6/8/2009, 75 days after hatching. She was last seen at the Norfolk Botanical Garden on 7/27/2009.

But that's not the end of her story. On 4/26/2011, Mom Norfolk was struck and killed by a plane at the neighboring Norfolk airport, leaving Dad without a mate. On 2/3/2015, it was discovered that HE's father, Dad Norfolk, had taken a new mate -- and it appeared that they were incubating an egg. Photographers tried for months to get a good picture of the mate's leg band. Finally, the new mate was identified as being HE! On 3/12/2015, they were observed feeding a chick. Their one eaglet fledged on 5/29/2015. Dad Norfolk and HE had recently been doing nestorations in preparation for the new nesting season. But it was not to be. Bald Eagle HE was found dead on 1/6/2016.

HE, we will miss you. Fly free with your Mom. May your son have a long and prosperous life! And may Dad Norfolk find a new mate...

Bald Eagle HE Has Died, Berry College Eagles Second Egg, Bald Eagle HK and Sterling, Black Eagle Makhaza, Africam Black Eagle Waterfall Video, Songbird Forest

Sadly, it's true that Bald Eagle HE was found dead this week onboard the Navy base at Little Creek. She died of blunt force trauma, but it likely wasn't witnessed since the actual cause wasn't listed. (It's not reported if she was struck by a vehicle or aircraft or if she flew into something.) Here's a link to the story. I started watching the Norfolk Botanical Garden nest in 2008 -- but the nesting season was cut short when Buddy was removed from the nest. So, my first year to truly watch this nest was 2009, the year of Azalea (HH), HK (now at Honey Bee Golf Course), and HE (who last year became the mate of her Dad). There has been a whole history of loss for Dad Norfolk, with this just being the latest. I'm sad at the loss of HE and for the loss of another of Dad's mates...

The Berry College Bald Eagles are right on time! Mom Berry laid her second egg of 2016 almost exactly 3 days after the first egg. She missed by less than 2 hours! If there will be a third egg, it will be Wednesday. Maybe late Wednesday. Maybe into the early morning hours of Thursday... Egg watch continues! Here's video of Mom Berry laying the second egg (10:15) -- vocalizing like she did while laying the first egg.

And here's another video from today of Dad bringing lunch and grass (9:56) to the nest.
(I will embed videos when it will let me...)

Here's a few s'caps from today. I like this one because we can see the egg and Mom is looking up:

She's not limping this year. But you can see how her leg sticks out. I think she had a broken leg and it has finally healed. It's not perfect... But she is able to walk on it and I suppose she can forage for herself.

This is from the second video I posted today. But I had to post a still as well. Dad was practically sitting on Mom's head while trying to do some nestorations. She was very tolerant.

Pam Monahan has a great post about Bald Eagle HK and his mate Sterling. She has a little of everything in this latest post, including them mating! Talons crossed for an egg this year! Here's a link to her post.

I had reported that Black Eagle Makhaza, from the 2007 Africam Black Eagle nest, was being treated. She has no improvement of function in her legs and wings. She is in pain. They have decided to humanely euthanize her. Here's a link to their statement.

Unfortunately, they used the phrase, "let her go" instead of euthanize. Which has led some people to ask for clarification. She is being euthanized. Then there's another group of people that are against euthanizing her. She would have died a horrible death without human intervention. And now, after no improvement, it would be cruel to keep her alive. She isn't living her destiny. She will not recover. She is in pain.

And speaking of the Africam Black Eagle nest... They had a hailstorm there. Check out this incredible video of their waterfall after a recent hailstorm. Mother nature can be pretty wild!

Check out this article about the "Songbird Forest" in Brazil.

Berry College Eagles Egg Watch, Bald Eagle HK Updates, Bald Eagle Ozzie's Necropsy Results, Loch of the Lowes Osprey Tracking Update

The Berry College Eagles are on egg watch. Tomorrow will be three days since the first egg was laid. So, if they are going to have a second egg (which is most likely) it will be laid tomorrow.

Pam Monahan has three new posts for Bald Eagle HK out at Honey Bee Golf Course:
1/3/16 - HK has a young visitor
1/4/16 - HK and Sterling
1/6/16 - HK and Sterling

The necropsy results are in for Bald Eagle Ozzie, former male resident of the Southwest Florida nest. After reading it, it seems to me that he might have survived if he'd gotten treatment sooner. If you are aware of injured wildlife, please contact your state's wildlife officials right away. You can click this link to read the necropsy results.

There is a Loch of the Lowes Osprey tracking update for FR3 and FR4. FR4 hasn't reported since 12/21. There is an Osprey team in the area and they may be able to do a search...

Bald Eagle HE Possibly Dead, Berry College Eagles First Egg, The Center For Conservation Biology Article, Bald Eagle Shaking To Arrange Feathers

There is word that Bald Eagle HE, Dad Norfolk's mate and mother of one eaglet last year, has been found dead. I haven't found any sources other than two blog posts for this. I'm still looking for confirmation...

Berry College Bald Eagles have their first egg! Last year, they laid their first egg on the 6th... Here we can see the egg for the first time:

Here's a video of the big event. Something rare in this video, we can hear Mom vocalize as she pushes to lay the egg. Here's the video: Mom Vocalizes During The Laying Of The First Egg (8:44):

The Center for Conservation Biology has published an article by Dr. Bryan Watts: Eagles Rarely Gamble During The Breeding Season.

Bald Eagles will shake like a dog to settle their feathers into place. Check out this GIF of a Bald Eagle shaking created by Rhoda Gerig.

My "I'm a dumb-ass" Orchid

I have Cattleya Orchids that I've bought online and never seen in bloom. I was so excited when this Orchid put up a bloom: 

It was only one flower, but I'd had this plant for years and was excited to see it bloom for the first time!

Finally, the bloom opened up! Isn't it pretty!? But I don't like the background...

I don't like this background either...

What do I have to do to get a decent looking background? My dirty shed and my neighbor's deck in the background is not cutting it!

I took the plant down from the s-hook where it was hanging, walked down the ramp and toward the front yard, where I was going to give it a better background. Then after I got some good pictures, it was going inside so I could enjoy the bloom. But hey! Where's the flower? I looked back where I had just traversed and found the bloom laying on the ground. What a dumb-ass! I had knocked it right off of the plant! So, I used my scissors to freshen the cut end, put it in a shallow cup of water, and enjoyed it for about a week and a half before it wilted and died. It was a beauty!

Berry College Eagles: Egg Watch!

Look for eggs this week at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest. I made this s'cap from today into a jigsaw puzzle on jigidi.com. Here's a link if you want to solve it. It took me 20 minutes...

Northeast Florida Eagles Day 10&12, Bald Eagle HK (and Sterling, the Landstown Eagle Pair, and a Drone)

Here's some s'caps from the Northeast Florida Eagles today:

I made the below s'cap into a jigsaw puzzle on jigidi.com. Here's a link if you want to solve it. I completed the puzzle in 13:39 minutes. Can you beat my time?!

Here's a short video from today: A Snack For Mom (1:43):

Pam has several updates to her blog about Bald Eagle HK.

12/16/2015 HK

12/22/2015 HK and Sterling

12/23/2015 HK

12/26/2015 HK (looking awesome!)

1/2/2016 HK, Landstown pair, and a drone...